DQ2004's AAR #2 - "Ouch. ...that hurt"

[DQ2004]

There are still transports in Liverpool, waiting for the Allied fleets to clear the sea lanes so that they can move armies and aircraft. The Germans decide to sink some of them. Mindful of the huge fleets of Luftwaffe bombers in Northern France and Belgium, the British only send up one wing of fighters. The FW-190's are aborted, but they swat the Hurricanes from the sky.
One transport is damaged and another aborted.

[DQ2004]

Its another day, and another day of bombing raids over England. With long-range 4-engine bombers, the Luftwaffe ranges all over in a bid to put the defenders under pressure.

[DQ2004]

Over London there is a huge running air battle as the Spitfires try to stem the tide of He-111 bombers. They manage to force some of the enemy to return to base, but three wings still get through to their targets. Surprisingly no aircraft units were destroyed in this fairly large battle.

[DQ2004]

In most places the bombers get through.
They inflict a 4 production point loss. The Heinkels miss their targets over London.

[DQ2004]

With few fighters left to defend, the Italians join the campaign over England. They choose to strike at Gort, to prevent him from reorganising the fighter defence.
The strike is a resounding success, the unescorted Cicogna raid achieving complete surprise.

[DQ2004]

The Luftwaffe hits some targets in North Africa.

[DQ2004]

The Italians, casting about for stuff to do, land in Karachi.

[DQ2004]

This time the Italians are ready for a potential loss - the San Marco Division takes the hit while the corps lands.

[DQ2004]

Over Europe the USAAF buildup is beginning to have a small effect. They now have some B-17s to play with. They send them to Prague. Given their strong air-to-air rating the planners hope they can survive the defending Luftwaffe fighters. They're right. The Germans' first encounter with the B-17 is a bit of a rude shock!

[DQ2004]

In the next impulse both sides find one another in the Faeroes Gap. Fortunately for the Kriegsmarine they don't have to face the entire Allied fleet.

[DQ2004]

The Germans had thought that having two carriers with reasonable air-to-air factor planes loaded would be sufficient to protect them. But the Allies have the surprise points and they have the luck of the roll. The German carrier planes are shot from the sky and hordes of Baffins and Swordfish swoop down on the German ships.

[DQ2004]

The aircraft carrier Kleist, with its superstructure-free flat deck, is singled out for attention. It survives the first hits - but not the second wave.

[DQ2004]

There is a brief skirmish in the Coral Sea. The US lose a Mariner flying boat unit. I can't remember what damage the carrier aircraft did.

[DQ2004]

With no fighters left (all disorganized) the Luftwaffe bomber fleets run rampant over England (they were reorganized by Kesselring and large ATRs).

[DQ2004]

Manchester and Southampton are hit

[DQ2004]

London does not escape either

[DQ2004]

In what has to be one of the riskiest moves I've ever made, the Germans drop paras on to the US rear, in an effort to cut their supply lines. They launch another attack on a disorganized stack in the hopes that the para attack will reduce them to being OOS for that attack.

[DQ2004]

In central Asia, Von Bock is busy reducing the Soviet forces near Tashkent.

[DQ2004]

The Japanese take Diego Garcia, and are surprised at the size of the facilities.

[DQ2004]

The paradrop fails. Ouch, that hurt.